The U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine (USARIEM) cross-divisional team recently completed the U.S. Army Center for Initial Military Training (USACIMT)-directed Army Comprehensive Body Composition (ACBC) study. The ACBC is an Army-wide study of more than 2,690 soldiers evaluating the effectiveness of the tape test and providing the scientific data and analysis to advise Army senior leaders to make data-driven decisions about the future of the Army Body Composition Program (ABCP). It has been roughly 20 years since the last time body composition equations have been evaluated and 10 years for body composition standards and Army Regulation 600-9; even then, neither was the in-depth and diverse approach of the ACBC study.
Questions from senior leaders emerged about the link between fitness, health, and physical performance and the current methods used to measure body composition in the Army. In January 2021, USACIMT called upon USARIEM to provide answers.